The present invention relates to a recording device and record carrier for use in an information-recording system, the record carrier having a track in which an auxiliary signal comprising address codes is recorded as a preformed transverse modulation of the track, the address codes specifying the addresses of the track portions at which said codes are located. The recording device comprises read means for reading the preformatted auxiliary signal.
An information recording system of this general type is known from Netherlands Patent Application NL-A-8700655 to which U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,856 corresponds.
Since an uninterrupted track is available for recording in the known system, it is very suitable for recording EFM-modulated signals, such as for example a CD audio signal, in a desired track portion whose beginning can be specified by means of a specific address code.
If the known information-recording system is to be used for recording a CD signal on a record carrier in such a way that the record carrier can be read by existing read apparatus for read-only CD audio discs or CD-ROM discs, it is desirable that the radial positions of the beginnings of the lead-in area and the program area as prescribed by the CD standard can be detected accurately. Moreover, it is desirable that prior to the beginning of the recording process the overall playing time of the record carrier be known. This is desirable in particular if standard CD signals are to be recorded, in which case the program area should end at a lead-out portion of the track in which a specific lead-out signal is recorded. In order to obtain a lead-out track portion of an appropriate length, it should begin at an adequate distance before the end of the track.
Apart from the aforementioned information, it may be desirable, for the purpose of controlling the recording process that other control data, which may vary considerably from disc to disc, be known prior to recording as well. For example, the write energy for recording the recording material since it may differ substantially for different types of recording materials.